Conference on bluefin tuna fishing opens

An international conference on bluefin tuna fishing quotas has started in Brazil.

The representatives of 48 countries and regions including Japan, the United States and the European Union attended the annual meeting in Porto de Galinhas, northern Brazil, on Monday.

Fabio Hazin, chairing the meeting, warned that trust in the conference would be harmed unless quotas for the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea are reduced.

Monaco last month proposed a total ban on international trade in bluefin tuna to protect the species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.The United States has said it will support Monaco's proposal unless fishing regulations are tightened.

In a bid to avoid a total ban, Japan is calling for cuts in fishing quotas. Japan is the world's largest consumer of tuna.

Proponents of tuna farming are opposed to major quota changes, but Japan's Fisheries Agency Councilor Masanori Miyahara says he is determined to garner support for limited cuts.